Te Tauihu Retreat

Kia ora koutou,

We warmly welcome Forest & Bird members, friends, and nature supporters to our upcoming Te Tauihu retreat.

It is a challenging political and social landscape for conservationists right now and coming together as a community is more important than ever. This residential weekend is an opportunity to gather with like-minded people and deepen our collective knowledge.

The weekend will feature engaging guest speakers, discussions, and plenty of time to connect with one another and explore the beautiful surrounding environment.

The Details

When: 6:00 PM Friday 25 September – 1:00 PM Sunday 27 September 2026
Where: Lake Rotoiti Lodge and Outdoor Education Centre, Lodge Rd, St Arnaud (Nelson Lakes)
Who: Forest & Bird members and friends from the Top of the South and West Coast (incorporating the Marlborough, Nelson-Tasman, Kaikōura, and West Coast branches). Non-members, family, and friends are all very welcome!
Organisers: A joint committee representing the Marlborough, Nelson-Tasman, and West Coast branches.
Programme: A full programme is currently being finalised and will be added to this page and sent out as guest speakers are locked in.

Accommodation & Facilities
Accommodation at Lake Rotoiti Lodge consists of multi-share bunkrooms. The lodge features a spacious, fully equipped school-camp style kitchen including fridges, freezers, a zip water heater, stoves, ovens, pots, pans, crockery, and cutlery.

Catering
To keep costs accessible, only the Saturday night dinner and morning/afternoon teas are provided. All other meals are self-catered.

What to Bring

Sleeping bag and pillow.
Indoor footwear (slippers or clean indoor shoes to protect the lodge floors).
Torch or phone-light for moving around safely at night.
Personal toiletries and a towel.
All self-catered food (Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast & lunch, Sunday breakfast & lunch).
Warm layers, rainwear and sturdy footwear to enjoy the Nelson Lakes environment.

Registration & Payment
Registration is limited to 100 people. You can opt for the full-weekend package or customise your attendance based on the breakdown below.

Option / Item	Cost (NZD)
Full Weekend Package (Includes both nights, Saturday dinner + speaker costs levy). Or calculate your own payment with the following:	$165.00
Compulsory Levy (Applies to all attendees) for speaker travel costs, rubbish, coffee/tea, etc.	$25.00
Friday Night Accommodation	$43.00
Saturday Night Accommodation	$43.00
Saturday Night Catered Dinner (Price is high due to the remote location. Note that the kitchen will not be available to self-cater your own dinner this night)	$55.00
Day-Use Fee (Per day, if you are staying off-site)	$20.00
Youth/Children (Under 20) Accommodation	$23.00 / night

How to Register and Pay
Click on the Get-Tickets button below and fill in the ticket information. Once you complete this, you will receive an automated email with confirmation of your registration.

Then please deposit your total amount owing to the Marlborough Branch account:

Account Number: 38-9020-0589917-00
Account Name: Forest and Bird Protection Society Marlborough Branch
Reference: Please use your Family Name and Retreat (e.g., SMITH Retreat) so we can match your payment to your registration.

Questions?
Please reach out to us at: marlborough.branch@forestandbird.org.nz

Programme

Friday 25th September

6pm – 7pm: Participants start to arrive. Informal introductions. Mix and mingle. Shared food – bring a plate

7pm – 7.30pm: What do we want to achieve?

7.30pm – 7.45pm: Forest & Bird Board. Vicky Robertson Role of the Board and some questions facing the Board.

7.45pm – 9pm: Branch projects. Nelson, Marlborough, Kaikoura and West Coast Branches talk about branch projects.

Saturday 26th September

7.30am – 9am: Breakfast Using own supplies

9.00am – 9.15am: Formal opening

9.15am – 10.15am: Aaron Hemi from Ngāti Apa will talk about their relationship to the local area and their environmental knowledge building efforts.

10.15 am – 10.45am: Morning Tea

10.45am – 12.15pm: Cat Session with Laura Young, Kea Conservation Trust; Robbie Holdaway, cat control at Mt Impey; Ailsa McGilvary-Howard, the battle for cat control in Kaikoura; Amelia Geary, F&B Wellington, What is happening around the motu with cat bylaws?

12.15pm – 1.15pm: Lunch

1.15pm – 2.15pm: Climate Breakdown with Matt Greene. How do we plan for it? Or as a first step, even get policy/decision makers to acknowledge it? What part could branches play?

2:15pm – 5pm: Botanical field trip with Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls

Other field trip and/or activities

6.30pm: Retreat Dinner

Post Dinner: Denniston with Scott Burnett & Suzanne Hills Denniston docos - ‘Save Denniston: Stand up for Nature’ (15mins) and ‘A Line in the Sandstone’ (55min) produced by Climate Liberation Aotearoa. Followed by Q&A session

Sunday 27th September

7.30am – 8.45am: Breakfast

9.00am – 10.00am: F&B National Projects and Te Hoiere Bat recovery project with Mandy Noffke and Chris Shaw.

10.00am – 10.30am: Tea break

10.30am – 11.30am: Election Campaign. Eugenie Sage, Penny Wardle, Nicky Snoyink, Scott Burnett

F&B's approach to the election. What is the most effective way of getting the message out?

Feedback from Election Hui

11.30am – 12noon: Closing

Contact the host of Te Tauihu Retreat - A Forest & Bird event

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